Category Archives: Uncategorized

Weekly Roundup “Conference Showed How Field Is Building on Progress in Youth-Serving Field” May 10, 2017 By Shay Bilchik, Michael Umpierre and Rachael Ward At the LEAD Conference, the latest developments in juvenile justice, child welfare, education, were discussed. A key topic was the improvement of the juvenile justice system, including the reduction of racial and ethnic […]

What is the American dream? For some, the American dream is the idea of opportunity or freedom, while for others it is the idea of economic success. As adults we decide how we perceive the world and how to gauge our own success; however, little do we know that our nuanced behaviors affect the long-term […]

We just want to take a brief moment to thank all who came out to the 16th Annual Zealous Advocacy Conference! We enjoyed your company and we hope you enjoyed the conference. As attorneys and law students who are extremely passionate about representing and advocating for youth, it was a true honor to be able […]

“Raise the Age,” Now Law in New York, Is Stil a Subject of Debate, April 10, 2017 By Jesse McKinley “To be sure, the law – signed Monday by Gov. Cuomo in a celebratory ceremony – represents a major change in how the state deals with 16- and 17-years-old defendants, diverting the majority of those […]

We’re excited to share with you the 16th Zealous Advocacy Conference Agenda. Please visit the Center of Children, Law and Policy website for the registration form and more information. (Subject to Change) Friday, April 21, 2017 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM: Breakfast & Conference Registration 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM: Welcome: Gault and the Right to […]

Studies Suggest Cautious Optimism About Declines In Teen Opioid Use, NPR In the midst of an opioid epidemic that continues to devastate families, a sliver of hope has arrived. Two long-term studies published Monday show that opioid use among teens and opioid poisonings among younger children are on the decline. Though it gets less press, […]

Fifty Year Later, In re Gault Continues to Inspire, The Huffington Post Gerald Gault was a fifteen-year-old Arizona boy who was arrested in 1964 for making obscene phone calls to a neighbor. After a brief juvenile court hearing in which Gault was unrepresented by counsel, Gault was convicted and shipped off to a juvenile prison […]

A couple Texas Legislative updates: Texans Care for Children, Why Legislators Should fund Pre-K Quality Through the New Grant Program (With Maps by Legislative District), Stephanie Rubin February 24, 2017 “But that only works if the grants are large enough to encourage districts to participate. If the Legislature provides $236 million for the 2018-19 biennium, and the same […]

Parents fearing deportation pick guardians for U.S. childrenThe The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA) advocacy group has been receiving about 10 requests a day from parents who want to put in place temporary guardianships for their children, said spokesman Jorge-Mario Cabrera. Last year, the group said it received about two requests a […]

We are formally inviting you to our 16th Zealous Advocacy Conference! The Zealous Advocacy Conference is an annual training seminar organized by the Center for Children, Law & Policy and the Southwest Juvenile Defender Center. The conference is the premier professional development training for juvenile public defense attorneys practicing in the Southwestern United States. This […]

How Hollow Rhetoric and a Broken Child Welfare System Feed Texas’ Sex-Trafficking Underworld, The Texas Tribune Eighty-six percent of missing children suspected of being forced into sex work came from the child welfare system, national data show, and a state-funded study estimated that the vast majority of young victims in Texas had some contact with […]

NPR Betsy DeVos Confirmed As Education Secretary, February 7, 2017, ANYA KAMENETZ “The 59-year-old philanthropist and activist from Michigan takes over the leadership and management of a federal bureaucracy with 4,400 employees and a $68 billion annual budget. Now, the question is: How much will actually change for the nation’s 50 million public school students and 20 […]

Contact Us

Center for Children, Law & Policy (CCLP)
Southwest Juvenile Defender Center (SWJDC)
Director Ellen Marrus, J.D., LL.M.,
George Butler Research Professor of Law
University of Houston Law CenterEMarrus@uh.edu